


Bending

by recrudescence



Category: Criminal Minds RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-17
Updated: 2010-01-17
Packaged: 2017-10-06 09:12:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recrudescence/pseuds/recrudescence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the CM RPF meme. Prompt: Shemar's response to the question, "Both you and Matthew used to be models. Do you guys face off about who's hotter?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bending

The answer just kind of fell out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about what he was saying. Interviewer mentions modeling careers, that's _obviously_ his cue to ramble on about Matthew's freakishly feminine bone structure and, with a little luck, smile widely enough for all the babbling to get brushed off as a joke instead of anything...creepy.

Though that could just be his paranoia sneaking in and tugging at his sleeve. Because, admittedly, maybe he'd done some stalking—_method acting_—in the form of combing the Internet for Matthew's old modeling pictures. From the first time he saw the guy, he couldn't help being weirdly riveted by how delicate he could seem without actually being a woman, everything tapered and fragile and still with steely wires of surety under it all. Matthew could go from klutzy to elegant in the space of a second, seemingly without noticing it at all. When he got his hands on a pen cap or a loose thread or whatever else he could toy or absently practice sleight-of-hand with, sometimes it was hard to focus on anything else.

Shemar just didn't expect anyone to grill him on that. But with the source of the subject hovering right behind him, he could only pay for his coffee and wait.

“So,” went Matthew, following suit and then following him to a corner table, “how do you know?

“How do I know what?”

“It's not like I brought in my portfolio and shoved it in everyone's face. So how do you know so much about how high I'm capable of hitting on the pretty meter?”

Pretty damn high, but Shemar wasn't about to say so. Dodge and parry: “There's a pretty meter now?”

“Did you _Google_ me?”

Shemar didn't answer.

Matthew draped himself over a chair, pants hitching high enough to show how horribly his socks clashed with each other, long fingers unfurling one by one. “There are only three reasons to Google someone you already know. One, because you're bored. Two, because you're crushing.” He paused, lifting his eyebrows expectantly. Shemar obligingly sighed.

“And...”

“Three, because you're bored _and_ crushing,” Matthew finished triumphantly.

Shemar snorted, averting his eyes as Matthew rescued an errant stream of caramel from the side of his mug and tongued it off his fingertip. “Thank you, Perez Hilton. I'll keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, you might also want to keep in mind that I'm not _actually_ a girl.”

“Hey, I said _almost_.”

“Which some people might think is toeing the line a _little_ too close for comfort.”

Now he was officially not sure which shoe he should be expecting to drop. “Wait, so are you mad because I called you pretty or because I compared you to a girl?”

“I never said I was mad,” Matthew answered demurely, downing about half his latte in one go.

“Really? 'Cause you're acting passive-aggressive enough as anyone who's got two X chromosomes.”

That actually got him a smile. “Just didn't expect it to come up in an interview, I guess.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Shemar braced both elbows on the table, voice solemn as he could get it, “the next time it does, I promise I'll only talk about how much hotter I am than you and how I can't believe you were capable of making it from one end of a runway to the other without straining something.”

“Oh, in _that_ case.” He couldn't possibly be imagining the flush. Matthew could work a goddamn spangled _matador_ jacket without breaking a sweat. But there was definitely a little more color in his cheeks than there had been a moment ago. Shemar didn't quite know what to do with that.

He leaned back, taking a slow sip and nodding vaguely. “See, now that I know what the right response is, I'm all set.”

“Glad we've cleared the air, then. By the way,” Matthew stared seriously into his eyes, but the corner of his mouth was twitching a tiny bit, “I think your butt's fine the way it is.”  



End file.
